His Tactician
by Exalt Glacies
Summary: He'd always be there right by his side. And Chrom would never think of a better person to be there. He trusted Robin.. With everything.


He never seemed to draw breath as he opened the tome in his hand. _Elwind_ was the first words out of the dark-haired tactician's mouth, as a blast of furious wind knocked the Risen that had found its way down towards Chrom out of its saddle and to the mercy of Chrom's blade.

With one fell swoop, the Risen was done for. The battle was finally coming to a close, as was the day itself. The young lord sheathed his blade, the Falchion, and turned to the dark-haired tactician, who seemed to be as still as the leaves on the trees nearby.

There wasn't movement for some time, until the tactician suddenly collapsed, having suffered wounds from earlier. Taking the pain and keeping his mouth shut about his wounds, he had thought he'd been doing Chrom a service by not calling Lissa out to help him.

They'd been doing so well up until that point, in which the young cleric was talked out of healing the tactician by Libra, who had a lot more experience in healing than she. Lissa huffed and said something, which was, thankfully, unheard.

It was likely just some flesh wounds but, as it stood, they gained nothing by letting their tactician bleed like that. Camp was soon made and the dark-haired boy laid in one of the beds to rest. There was much talk and sometimes a bit of a spar here or there as the sun set in the distance. From then on, it seemed everyone retired to their tents for the night.

In the darkness, no one could see a thing unless the campfire was still going. Most of the army had retired to their tents for the night, eager to get going when the sun rose. Of course, Robin awoke not long after everyone has retired, blinking the sleep from his eyes and sitting upright.

His body hurt something fierce. His back ached from where the Risen had slashed at him and successfully cut skin.. and his legs ached from endless running and fighting, not to mention his throat hurt from calling out the endless spell names.

How did the mages do it? It was a mystery to him.. Nonetheless, Robin moved out of bed and stood, though his legs felt like giving out on him any second. The tactician groaned, putting a hand to his head and heading out of the tent.

It was dark outside, as usual. Robin had no idea which way he was supposed to go. Frowning slightly, he stumbled through the dark, only to fall into a puddle of water. A laugh rang in his ears, one that made the tactician sit up and turn around, flushing with embarrassment as he realized just who was laughing.

"Chrom, could you be any more tactless?" He said with a slight hint of annoyance found in his tone. The young lord held out his hand and helped Robin back to his feet, a smile still found on his features. Giving a sigh, the dark-haired tactician shook his head.

"You should be asleep. Not out wandering and falling into puddles." Chrom pointed out. A groan left his tactician's lips and another chuckle escaped his own. "Come now, it wouldn't do you much good to be up all night."

He'd been given a sigh of annoyance as an answer. Though he was reluctant to return to his tent, Robin went along with Chrom. It had just been a friend helping a friend get back to bed. What had happened after, though, was something neither had expected.

Having put Robin on his bed, making sure that the tactician wouldn't dare to move, he had gone to leave when a hand caught his wrist. A glance back showed Robin's face, brows furrowed in determination and brown eyes looking up at him as if he had a question on his mind.

"That look you're giving me isn't like you, Robin." Chrom said, honestly pointing out something that didn't seem like the tactician. Dropping the gaze, Robin laid back with a groan.

"Chrom, I have a question for you." That caught the lord's attention. Looking over at the man laying in the bed, he was certain that it was possibly something dire. But what he had heard next was something he'd thought he'd never hear.

"..Would you stay with me tonight? A-as friends."

Stay with him? Wasn't that a bit preposterous? But this was his friend, so.. It wouldn't hurt to actually comply with his wishes. He couldn't see any harm in it. It was possible that the tactician just wanted some company until he fell asleep.

If that was it, then he'd gladly oblige. A smile crossed Chrom's features as he sat down next to Robin on the bed, giving a small nod. "Of course." Taking off his boots and the heavy armour that rested on his person, he'd laid next to the tactician.

The two spent half the night talking and possibly joking around, although it had seemed a little forced on Robin's part, who had been trying to say something to the young lord the entire night, but somehow kept missing the chance.

When Chrom was getting ready to leave, seeing as Robin had lost interest in their conversations and fun (or so he believed), Robin's hand grabbed his arm.

"Chrom!"

Startled out of his current work, Chrom looked over to the tactician, eyes slightly widened from the start and heart pounding, though it only took a few deep breaths to calm himself and return to a normal state.

"Robin, you gave me a start. What is it?" He asked. Letting go of Chrom, Robin sat up and shook his head. He'd fallen silent for about two to three minutes before speaking up.

"There's something I need to say." Robin looked as if he was trying to gather himself for this. Was it something big? A new strategy, perhaps? Who knew with their enigmatic tactician? Chrom waited as he composed himself and breathed a sigh.

"Chrom. I think that I might have.." He paused for a moment, thinking. How was he to approach this with Chrom? The lord was fairly easy-going half the time.. so would he have to take a direct approach with this? It was quite possible that he would take it fairly well.. So he'd attempt that approach instead of beating around the bush.

It seemed Chrom was anxious. "You might have what? Lasting injuries? Libra did fairly well on healing you but you might want to keep resting." Robin inwardly groaned. It wasn't that. Giving a small grunt, he shook his head.

"Not the injuries, Chrom." He cleared that up fairly quickly. "I mean.. We've spent a lot of time together. Haven't you felt differently towards me?"

Chrom slightly inclined his head to the left. "I don't know what you mean, Robin." It was almost laughable. Chrom was kind of oblivious to others' feelings towards him, as shown with how he acted towards Sumia. That roundabout didn't work, either. One of his plans had failed. That meant the direct approach was the only way about it.

"Well then." Robin gave a sigh, putting a hand on his own face. "I suppose I should come out with it, huh?" A pause, as if Chrom was waiting for his next sentence.

"Chrom, I believe that I've fallen for you."

It took a few moments for the information to be digested. It seemed that it finally dawned on Chrom of his tactician's feelings.. Something that had him always by his side, always there to help. Always right there beside him.

It didn't feel right without his tactician there by his side. Helping out in battle and giving out the best strategies as if he'd done it all his life. As if he could tell what had happened and plotted out a different path for them to take.

Especially now. He'd probably seen right through Chrom and made the best strategy to tell him.. even if that roundabout failed. Robin always had a different strategy. A different plan in case one failed on them. And that was probably why Robin was the best person for the job of leading the army.

Giving a smile, Chrom could only respond with four simple words.

"I feel the same."

It was those words, and the relationship they had from then on, that severed Robin's ties from the bleak future the Hero-King had warned them of. And it was what saved him at the end.

And it was that tie to Chrom that kept him alive, even though he had all but given up on the world.


End file.
